Your Tiara Is Falling
by blemice
Summary: "Sure, whatever." Natsu says as he pathetically tries to adjust his armour. "But if you fall in love with me, blondie, don't say I didn't warn you." —or, the story in which a knight is assigned as a princess' bodyguard and they must, under no circumstances, fall in love. [medieval au]


**[For Lydia and your dumb hair.]**

* * *

 _With your feet on the air and your head on the ground_

 _Try this trick and spin it, yeah_

 _Your head will collapse_

 _But there's nothing in it_

 _And you'll ask yourself_

 _Where is my mind?_

 _-Where Is My Mind by Pixies_

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1: Your knight in not-so-shining armour_**

* * *

 _A little blonde girl watches in awe at the parade of strange people cloaked in metal walking towards the castle. Her Father is beside her, wearing a funny looking thing on his head (she's guessing they're called crowns), and he's waving at the parade. She doesn't really get what's happening. Initially, all she wanted to do was go back to her room to play with her dolls, but that all changed when one of the metal people looked at her and winked._

 _"Who are they, father?" She asks, in a whisper._

 _"Lucy, darling, they're called knights and they're your biggest protectors."_

 _"Knights? Like, the night?"_

 _He ignores her comment. "A lot of them are going to be stationed around the castle and you must never talk to them. Understand? They're not your friends. They're only here to risk their lives. And can you promise me one thing Lucy?"_

 _"Yes Father."_

 _"You must never fall in love with a knight. You will marry a duke or a prince. Is that understood?"_

 _"But what if I don't want to marry a prince?" Lucy says abruptly. "What if I want to marry a knight?"_

 _Her father doesn't reply and she wonders why._

~0~

Your name is Lucy Heartifilia and you're standing next to a man with the prettiest hair ever.

He's tall, tan and has a ridiculously nice body. His hair is a strange colour of pink and he holds onto three boxes of Staruss Siblings pastries. He's wearing a shiny armour—or well, it's smudged with dirt and… is that food? Okay, so maybe it's not so shiny, but the armour makes him look as if he's ready to concur the world at any given moment. Not to mention, he smells like roses, but maybe that's because you're in a flower shop.

You stand next to him in awkward silence. You haven't talked to him, no not yet and most likely not any time soon. It's not because you don't want to, it's because why would he—a knight—talk to a girl like you?

"Interesting choice of flowers." The guy in pink gestures to the bundle of daisies you're holding. His voice is deep and it has a boyish touch to it. You have to admit, you can listen to his voice all day.

You give a small nod because quite frankly, you're a nervous wreck. "Thank you. I could say the same to—" You eye the odd looking flowers in his hand, they're gripped tight and you feel like they could snap if his grip was a little tighter."Yours."

The knight smiles, and his smile makes your heart skip a beat. His fingers touches his chin and it goes _taptap._ You swallow thickly as if the room has suddenly gone way too hot, but you manage to give the coins to the lady behind the counter. Though, you find yourself getting distracted. By what exactly? By the way _his_ eyes are digging into your back.

"I take it you like daisies."

"Oh, they're not for me."

"Really?" He muses and his lips twist into curiosity. "So, who are they for?"

You hesitate to reply. "They're for my mother."

"I'm sure she'll love them."

You laugh a breathless laugh and you shrug. "Yeah, I guess." You don't really want to admit that she's dead.

The knight just stares at you and you know that he knows that you know— you're lying. His eyes burn through you and it feels as if he already knows everything there is about you. But the thing is, he knows nothing. At least, he hasn't found out that you're—

"Do you come here often?" He asks.

"I come here every Friday evening." You say, "Well, that's my only free time, anyway."

"A flower shop, gotta admit, it's not a bad choice for spending your time here." He nods. "I guess I should start coming here more often as well."

"Y-you will?" You catch yourself stuttering and you clear your throat, "I meant, does this mean I'll be seeing you more often?"

He smiles for the second time and you can't get enough of it.

"I supposed so."

There is an easy silence that falls between the two of you. You fixate on the way the sunlight makes a bright, warm outline of his profile and you find that this is your new addiction. He's stunning in the light and you wonder how he looks in the dark.

"I can't help but to wonder… are you new here? I haven't seen you in the knight divisions or around town." You inquire and you start to regret asking because what if he has been here the entire time but you've never noticed? Then again, how could you ever ignore a knight like him?

"I got transferred from another army and today is my first day in Magnolia." He explains and he rubs the crook of his neck with an annoyed look. "I'm supposed to be guarding this chick—uh, this _princess_ , supposedly, and I should be in charge of one of the divisions but it turns out I'm now the bodyguard of a girl in a frilly dress."

He did not just go there.

You don't get mad at him immediately, however, because after years of training and hours of talking into a mirror to calm your emotions, his words are merely a little sting. It does make sense why he's mad. He just lost his chance to become a captain of one of the divisions and to make matters worse, it seems as if he's been demoted to a bodyguard. And you're not really mad about the fact that he clearly doesn't want to be a bodyguard of a _princess_ because let's face it, some princesses can be real bitches. His reasoning is fine, you think, but the fact that he just called you a girl in a frilly dress really _really_ gets on your nerves.

And wait. _Bodyguard?_ Your father never told you about this and you don't need a bodyguard. You can handle your own. You know how to use a whip (not in… _that way_ ) and you know how to throw knives (really badly) and…and…

You totally don't need a bodyguard.

"Have you met the princess yet?" You ask, and you try your hardest to hide the annoyance.

"Nope, though I bet she looks like all the other princesses," What the hell does he mean by—"Big boobs, blonde hair, whiny, arrogant." He pauses. "I think you get the message."

You kinda want to punch his handsome face.

"But if you were the princess," He starts before you go off with a very well scripted rant that you have prepared for quite some time just in case anything like this happens, "I wouldn't mind. You seem pretty cool."

A blush creeps up to your cheeks and you shy your face away from him for a split second, just so he can't see your red face. That's how your mother told you to act—but it's only if you're in front of dukes or princes. Though, you don't think of this knight any different from the others, you do it out of instinct.

"You seem pretty cool too." You smile and the slight tension in the air lightens. You wish this moment can last a little longer: him looking at you and you looking back at him and it feels magical. It is then, when you turn to the side, you see the sun setting and this is the part where you leave.

"I'm sorry, I think I have to go now."

He looks at you with an expression hinted with sadness and he mouths out a depressing, "Oh." He follows you out the shop and you're both holding flowers. "So I guess this is goodbye, for now at least. I'll see you again, right? Wait. Did I sound too desperate? Not that I am desperate—I do want to meet you! I just. I didn't mean. Like. Uh—"

You burst out laughing and you haven't felt this happy in a long time. He simply shoots you a playful glare and pouts, red coats his cheek and he's looking away. It's kind of an adorable sight, you think to yourself, maybe having him as a bodyguard isn't going to be so bad.

"Wait! Before you go, what's your name?" He shouts at your departing figure.

You stop in your steps and you look back at the knight in not-so-shining armour.

"You first!" You yell back.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel! Son of Igneel, the captain of the Council Corps and I'm going to be the bodyguard of a princess!"

"And I'm Lucy Heartfilia! Daughter of Jude Heartfilia and that is all you have to know!"

You leave and you have a feeling he doesn't even know who Jude Heartfilia is.

~0~

You, Lucy Heartfilia, are royalty.

And you feel like it's a priority to remind yourself every time you step out into the open world, out of the walls of your so-called 'sanctuary'.

You hate it here, the castle, you father keeps telling you it's some sort of a magnificent haven but you honestly think it's more of a prison. People usually assume that life behind the walls is a life full of luxury and comfort, floored with gold and silk, lavish to the very brim and that you don't even need to move a muscle with the amount of servants. They're not completely wrong, it is in fact a luxurious way of living, but as the saying goes, money can't buy happiness and that is exactly that.

It's lonely, so terribly lonely. Your only friends within the castle are some of the maids and your hair stylist, Cana. Sure she's drunk half of the time, but she can be pretty… _chill._ Cana is this little (drunk) ball of a weirdness, she's not afraid to sing, dance, ask, talk, argue—okay, you kind of look up to her. She's got guts, this girl.

It's been a long day and all you want to do is drop dead on your bed. You sigh when you finally get to your room and you wave and nod at some visitors and workers on the way. Your hand is on the handle and you press down before you push open the door.

There's a strange smell and there are strange people in your bed.

The room is dark and you search blindly for the switch. When you find it, you flick it on and the room turns bright and blinding and there, laying in your bed with some other guy you don't know, is Cana.

She's squinting as she looks at you and the guy that's on top of her drops to the ground in shock. There's a heavy silence that lingers for a little too long and you can't stop ew-ing repeatedly in your head.

It's about time you get new sheets, anyway.

"Oh, hi Lucy, I didn't know this was your room." She drawls like she's drunk but you know she's not.

"Sure, okay," You say flatly as you watch the guy scramble for his shirt and pants and you're wondering why did Cana choose a guy like him. "Look, I don't care if you guys… _screw_ with each other," Oh, excuse your french. "But seriously? My bed?"

"Yeah well, you see, we needed something comfortable to do the _thing_ and the _other thing_ ," You die a little inside. "And my bed broke because—" Cana pauses and she purses her lips and makes irritating kissing noises that makes you want to throw up.

"Nice one babe." The guy who has his pants sagging and his shirt thrown on loosely winks at Cana's direction.

You frown. "Why are you still here?"

"Oh shit." And he's off stumbling across obstacle after obstacle until he finally disappears out of the room.

When he's gone, you walk towards Cana and you pull her up by the collar of her shirt (thank God she's wearing clothes) and you simply stare at her, as if you're expecting an explanation.

She stares back. "I can't really explain what happened."

"And why is that?"

She scoffs and says in a lazy voice, "It's too early, is what."  
"It's the evening."

"Wrong answer." And she's off waltzing towards the bathroom.

You follow her, still in pursuit for the real reason why the hell was she on your bed making out with some other guy. She looks at herself in the mirror, and she's satisfied for some odd reason, you can tell by the smug grin on her lips as she pulls her hair back with her fingers. The weird part about her is that she knows she looks like a mess, and she embraces that fact. You should've brought her a robe.

"Coffee?" She asks, a little too sweetly and walks towards the coffee pot before you can even answer.

"Sure." You answer anyway and you sit on a stool instead of the bed because it's just not the same anymore.

You hear the pot boil and she turns around, her hands rests on the counter as she looks at you, all smiles and suspicion and you know she's on to you.

"So, _honey_ , how was your day?"

"Oh _darling_ it was gorgeous." You snap back and you're shooting her the cut-the-crap-cana-and-just-spit-it-out look and she shoots you the you're-so-impatient-lucy-i-hate-to-ruin-the-surprise look. At this point you're both just staring at each other.

"Something happened to you today." She finally says ."The real question is, _what_ exactly happened? Did you get a gift? Was it a new dog? Or—" There's a gasp. "It's a certain _someone_ isn't it? Is it a chick? A guy? Do they have money?"

"The coffee." You inform Cana. She turns back and quickly turns off the heat. With delicate fingers, she holds the pot up and pours the coffee into a glass and it stops at a faint stain of brown. She hands it towards you and you take it with wanting hands. You haven't had your morning coffee and it's been driving you crazy.

"I met a knight."

Her jaw drops in shock. "A knight? I thought the knights are forbidden to talk to you?"

You shake your head. "That's what I thought too. But it turns out, he's a transfer and he didn't know who I was and even, who the king is." You can tell she's holding in her laughter. "To add to that, he's my so-called bodyguard."

Cana blinks. Twice. "Your bodyguard?" She splutters. "What the fuck? Why would you need a bodyguard?"

"I don't know! My Father never told me about any of this. And to make matters worse, that knight hates princesses."

She's silent, but the amused look on her face never fades. It's a bit weird to see her like this, so quiet and mute. You know there are words begging to be said. It is then, a flash of white teeth spreads against her lips and she's grinning like an idiot, like the somewhat genius she is. There is nothing more worrying than Cana in this mood. She has a plan and you're afraid to find out what it is.

"This sounds awfully cliche doesn't it? Forbidden love, it's what I'd like to call it. We should call Levy and tell her about this idea, it could become a bestseller, especially if it's based on a true story."

"Cana! I literally just met him."

"It's love at first sight." She wiggles her eyebrows.

"I—whatever." You sigh in defeat and you lie flat on your back. The celling looks different today, there's a crack, or maybe that's just your imagination. But you've been staring at the same celling for almost 19 years, there's no way this is just your imagination. The crack on the celling disappears when you see the face of Cana Alberona hovering over you. Her brown locks traps you like a cage and she's still grinning like there's no tomorrow.

"So, what are you going to do Lucy? Are you going to fall in love with what you're not supposed to? Or are you going to remain daddy's little princess?"

You stare at her, for a moment, and you grab a handful of her shirt and push her off and she's on the carpet, laughing like crazy. Everything suddenly seems like you're 10 years old and fooling with your friends. It's a nostalgic feeling and it brings a sigh to escape your lips.

"This isn't a fairy tale, Cana." You tell her with a smile.

You, Lucy Heartfilia, are royalty.

~0~

"Lucy, meet your new bodyguard Natsu."

Natsu stares at you with a look of horror. You're not very surprised at this and he's spluttering at his words. He's trying to compose himself, to make it seem as if he's a loyal, respectful, well mannered knight in front of the king. He's trying, but he's failing.

Miserably.

"Y-your highness if I may—"

"Knight Natsu, you must stay with her at all costs." Your father says abruptly and that shuts Natsu up. You hide a smirk and the king simply stares at the gulping knight as if he is merely a small, fragile flower. "You will guard her when she's asleep, you will wait until she finishes eating and only then you will be able to eat and you will do a safe search of an area she is about to enter. I give you full permission to roam the palace as freely as you like, but under the condition that you must protect my daughter. Is that understood Knight Natsu?"

You can see Natsu visibly swallowing and he doesn't even dare to blink. "I understand, your highness."

"Do I not get a say in this father?" You cut in and you try to hide the anger and annoyance in your voice. "I find it absurd that I'm only hearing about this today."

The king sighs and you can tell he really doesn't want to answer your question. "It was a very last minute suggestion made by the Council. A few royal families have been attacked during the last few months and I cannot have you harmed."

"And why is that father?" You urge on. "There has always been attacks and the families that were attacked posed a certain threat, are you saying that we do too?"

"That is enough Lucy." Your father snaps at you and you flinch, only slightly.

You don't say anything else because nothing will ever be resolved. You know this because of years and years of arguments and many of them going nowhere. It has come to a point where you endure it and you simply live with the fact that you can never win against him.

"I trust that you will show Natsu around the castle, yes? I have errands to run and I shall debrief the two of you when I'm back."

And that is that.

The king leaves and you, a princess, is left standing alone next to a knight.

He doesn't say hello, and he's definitely not in the mood for greetings. But you stick your hand out anyway, because that's the _right_ thing to do (even though it feels so wrong). The look on his face is priceless. He looks as if he's been cheated, lied to, but the look softens when he notices your hand in front of him. Natsu eyes it, carefully, and his eyes darts back to yours and they're laced with confusion.

He takes it, hesitantly, and he squeezes your hand once. You release your hand immediately and he smirks at your action.

"Hey lovebirds." Cana says, suddenly right behind your shoulder like a _ninja_. She's chewing on a piece of bread and she's sober, so thank God for that.

"We'll be going," You say it like a statement. " _Upstairs."_

He wants to retort, he _desperately_ wants to retort, and you can tell he isn't used to being bossed around.

"Fine." He says.

"We best be going then."

"Go, then."

"Oh, we— I'm _soo_ going."

"Uh huh, you better be."

" _Oh my God_." Cana says, groaning between the two of you and she gestures you to the hallway that leads to _upstairs._ "I give up. You're right Lucy, you two are horrible, absolutely fucking horrible." And you know she doesn't mean that, you know her way too well, what she actually meant to say is: _you two are perfect, absolutely fucking perfect._

"We're going." You say again and you grab Natsu's wrist and he attempts to shrug it off but your grip on him is iron tight and you know he wouldn't dare to pull off the hand of a princess. You're literally stomping at every step, It's unladylike but you don't care at this point.

"Bye!" Cana shouts, way too happily, "Play safe kids!"

And this time, the two of you are really alone.

"Hey, I don't if you remember, but I said something about princesses at the flower shop earlier today and uh," He chuckles nervously as he's struggling to catch up with your hand still on his wrist. "Yeah, okay, so about that—"

"Natsu?"

"Yes Lucy?"

You pause in your steps and he's giving you a look of total confusion.

"Why did you sto—"

"You've been wearing your armour the wrong way. It's backwards."

You let go of his wrist and you leave him standing there, in shock.

" _Aaaahho_ h. _Ohh_. Does this mean the king saw— _oh shit._ " Natsu says in sudden realisation and he trips on his own steps and falls right over.

You place your hands on your hips as you look at the knight struggling to get up from the ground. There's an urge to laugh at how silly he looks, but you don't. You're a Heartfilia and a princess, you don't laugh at things like this. You're supposed to laugh at things said by _princes_ , _dukes, royalty._

Instead, you smile.

"Time to set some ground rules." You say, and he's still struggling to get up. "Firstly, you do not need to accompany me to the shower or the restroom, I believe neither of us wants that to happen. Secondly, when I'm eating, you will eat beside me. I don't care what my Father says, I think it's just cruel for you to wait to be fed. Lastly, and by far the most important," He's standing up now and he's looking straight into your eyes, "You must, under no circumstances, fall in love with me."

Natsu blinks and he looks at you like you're crazy. Then, his mouth spills with laughter and you're wondering what's so funny.

"I think it might be the other way around princess." His laughter dies and his lips curve into a mischievous smirk. "If it's anyone falling in love with anyone, it's you who is going to fall in love with _me._ Women hit on me all the time."

You scoff and you raise a brow, unimpressed. "Right. Like I'm ever going to fall in love with _you._ Now, do you understand the rules?"

"Sure, whatever," Natsu says as he pathetically tries to adjust his armour. "but if you end up falling in love with me, blondie, don't say I didn't warn you."

He walks ahead of you with broad shoulders and a proud smile like he just won a prize. He doesn't notice the crack on the floor and falls over, again.

This knight is supposed to be your bodyguard but he's actually the world's biggest dork.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Of course, I had to listen to Where Is My Mind while writing this, mainly because i just watched Fight Club and now I have major...fighting feels.**

 **So this is a little new for me. I'm not really used to writing in second person, especially in present tense. I would use the excuse that english isn't my first language, but fuck it. I'm just really bad at writing lmao. Though I really couldn't get this idea off my mind. Hope you all like this idea so far and I'm going to try my best to make this not cliche as possible...but I think I already failed. Woops.**

 **TUNE IN NEXT TIME and REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!**


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